


Return to Arcadia

by bfcas



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, Fluff, pricefield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29185005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bfcas/pseuds/bfcas
Summary: Max finds herself in a moment of calm after a week of chaos. Little does she know, it's all Chloe ever wanted.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	Return to Arcadia

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no see! But here I am! I've had a resurgence of love for this fandom and just picked up a bunch of old drafts, so (potentially) expect some more works from me! I thought what better way than to start with a way too sweet fluff piece based on the letter from Max to Chloe in her dream sequence in BtS. 
> 
> Also, no, I have never watched Full Metal Alchemist, so apologies if I butchered any info...
> 
> Hope you enjoy and please ignore any mistakes, they were never there...

“So, another episode?” Max asked, finger hovering over the spacebar on her laptop, ready to play the next instalment of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood that she had installed on her hard drive. 

“Sure.” Chloe nodded, standing from the bed with a stretch. Understandable considering they’d been lying there watching it for well over an hour. “I gotta wazz but load it up, Caulfield.” She pointed to the laptop before sauntering out of the room and closing the door. 

Max pressed pause on the episode as it began to play, the silence filling the room instantly. She sighed and let it wash over her, grateful for the peace after what had been undoubtedly the craziest week she had ever (and probably would ever) experienced. 

From disturbed gunslinging rich kids to talking down her suicidal friend to living through the Dark Room to finding out she had fucking time travel powers, the week had been chaotic. It was a miracle that she was even still alive, sat in bed watching dumb anime with her best friend, who she hadn’t seen in five years. It was a total headfuck and she wasn’t sure she’d ever fully process it but sitting quietly like this didn’t hurt. 

It had been so hard to finally figure out how to save both Chloe and Arcadia Bay, with multiple reality jumps and so many nosebleeds, but the second that she had come back to this reality and found that it was her and Chloe sat peacefully on that bench by the lighthouse, the town sleeping quietly beneath them with no storm in sight, she knew it had all been worth it. Every second of that crazy week had been worth it. She had collapsed into Chloe’s arms and, feeling safe for the first time since Monday afternoon, had cried with relief until the sunset turned into stars. 

She hadn’t really left Chloe’s arms since, staying with her overnight, their hands loosely entwined the entire night - as if neither one of them could quite believe they wouldn’t fade away if they were separate. 

The fact that it was Saturday afternoon and the world hadn’t imploded or been swept away by a supernatural tornado made Max giddy with relief. She would never take uneventful days for granted ever again; lounging around with her best friend, doing absolutely nothing had been the highlight of her year at this point. 

“You ready to see Kimblee get his sorry ass whooped?” Chloe announced as she burst through the door, wiping her wet hands on her sweatpants.   
The sight of her still made Max smile like an idiot against her will, just glad that she was alive and here with her. She nodded, smiling at the older girl as she crashed back down on the bed, landing in a heap next to Max. She pressed the spacebar and kicked the laptop to the foot of the bed, settling into the blankets once again. She reached for Chloe’s hand and felt her cheeks warm as Chloe instantly entwined their fingers, her hand still damp where she’d washed it. Max didn’t care though, instead squeezing her wet hand comfortingly before shuffling over to lay her head on Chloe’s shoulder. 

The theme song played for the tenth time that day, not that Max cared. Lying here and binging TV had been a more than welcome reward for the last five days. Joyce had made a comment about them being ‘lazy as they were five years ago’ when she had brought them sandwiches and chips up at lunchtime but both the girls had just laughed, knowing that Joyce would never know why they were so content to do nothing. 

Max could feel her mind wandering as the anime played. She had seen it all loads of times but when Chloe had suggested it, she had been grateful to watch it, so she didn’t have to pay attention. Instead, she kept thinking over the last week. Every time she thought about something tough - gunshots or needles or camera flashes - she tightened her grip on Chloe’s hand and felt her fear slip away when the girl would reciprocate with a squeeze of her hand back or by resting her head atop Max’s without even saying a word. It was quiet and safe and Chloe was the only person who would ever understand and, God, Max was so glad she was here. 

It was when she was halfway through thinking of late night swimming pool talks and stupid otter vs shark debates that she was cut short by the noise of Chloe sniffing loudly. The sniff was followed by a shaky exhale and it suddenly occurred to Max that Chloe was crying. 

“Hey,” Max said quietly as she lifted her head from Chloe’s shoulder to look at her. Her face was tinged pink and her jaw was tight where she was holding back tears but the water on her eyes and the quiver of her bottom lip gave her away like a flashing neon sign. Max pressed the spacebar of her laptop, leaving the room in silence, save for Chloe’s sniffling. She wiped away a lone tear that had managed to run down Chloe’s cheek with a gentle swipe of her index finger. “What’s wrong?”

It was a loaded question, given the week's events, but Max wanted to ask anyway. Maybe it was something she could fix. She always wanted to fix things for Chloe. 

“It’s…” Chloe started, her voice so thick with tears she had to clear her throat before continuing. “It’s dumb.” 

Max shuffled closer to her, gentle fingers brushing blue hair from a warm forehead. Chloe’s eyes dropped shut at the contact, allowing more tears to squeeze their way and run down onto the pillow, painting small splashes on the fabric. She stared at Chloe for a moment, seeing the innocent girl she had grown up with. This last week had made Chloe seem so much older and rougher, with cigarettes and gunfights replacing candy and videogames. But as Max looked at her, like really looked at her, she could see the same sweet girl who had protected her from the childhood bullies and who had cried at Toy Story every single time. 

It made Max want to bundle her up and make whatever was hurting her go away. She had spent the week physically keeping Chloe from harm and now that they were safe, she wanted to help her mentally, too. She knew she had a lot to make up for after her five year absence but now that she was here, she knew she would never leave again. 

“It won’t be dumb,” Max reassured her. “But even if it is, I won’t care. I’m your best friend.” Max said, watching as Chloe’s jaw clenched at her words. She always did that when she was trying not to cry, Max remembered. Chloe stared at the ceiling for a while before she sighed, her eyes fluttering shut once more to avoid Max’s worried gaze.

“I just…” She started, her words trailing off as she opened her eyes. She turned her head and Max couldn’t help but be taken aback at the deep blue eyes that looked at her. She stared at them, making a note of how there were golden flecks within the blue that she had never noticed until now they were this close. She watched Chloe’s eyes flicker down to her lips for a split second before jumping back up, noting it with a skip of her heart.

“I missed you,” Chloe said, tears choking her words so they came out in an uncharacteristically small voice. “You were gone for so long and now you’re back and we’re just watching TV in bed like I wanted and... And…” A watery smile grew on her face as tears ran freely down her face. Max brought her hand up to wipe them away on the sleeve of her sweatshirt. 

“I just really really, really fucking missed you, dude.” Chloe finished, grabbing the hand wiping her tears away to hold it to her chest. Max let her, gripping onto her hand tightly. There was a spark in her brain and the overwhelming urge to kiss her nearly took over but she stopped herself at the last minute, wrapping Chloe into a hug instead.

As Chloe buried her head in Max’s shoulder, Max could feel a flood of hot tears hit her skin, prompting her own to fall, landing in Chloe’s hair. She wrapped her arms around the older girl, squeezing her tight. It could’ve even been too tight, for fear that she’d fade away if she let go, but Chloe didn’t complain, her own arms wrapping around Max and squeezing her just as much. 

“I’m really sorry, Chloe.” Max got out through tears. “I was such a fucking… Bitch. Leaving you like that? I’m so sorry.” She forced, punctuating her apology with a long kiss to the top of Chloe’s head. 

“It’s okay,” Chloe said, the words muffled by Max’s sweater. Max took a breath in to argue, to say that it definitely was not okay, but Chloe continued. “You came back and you saved my life.” Chloe retracted from the hug, her face blotchy and red from the crying. Max still smiled at the sight of her, thinking that she was beautiful even when she was broken. 

“I really missed you too.” Max nodded, wiping the last of the tears from Chloe’s face. “I should’ve been there. I’ve got no excuse. But I’m back and I love you.” She flicked Chloe square on the forehead, just as they would do as kids all the time to annoy each other. Chloe jumped a little before scowling up at Max. 

“I love you, too. Even if you are still a little shit.” 

They softly chuckled at each other and as Max stared into her watery eyes, it was like any other moment never existed. It was just them, here, now. And Max loved her. 

With their faces only inches apart, each shaky breath that Chloe took came out as a ticklish whisper against Max’s lips. She watched with a soft smile as Chloe’s eyes tracked over her face and she knew that she was counting the freckles on her face. She’d done it when they were kids, in the lamplit nights of sleepovers and Max had remembered feeling flustered then. Now, she could feel her heart beating out of her chest, threatening to burst with the amount of love in it.

It stopped beating completely when Chloe’s eyes landed on her lips.

It began to beat at an unhealthily rapid rate when Chloe edged closer and it threatened to shut down altogether when Chloe’s eyes fluttered shut and she ducked her head down, her lips coming so close to touching her own that she could feel the warmth coming off them on hers. 

“Max,” Chloe murmured, the word being spoken so close that Max felt it on her lips. It was a question without even being worded. A not-so subtle plea that Max couldn’t quite believe was happening. Chloe hovered, waiting for Max to answer her and it was only when Chloe retreated slightly after such a long silence that Max sprung into action, closing the gap to press her lips softly against Chloe’s. 

She held their lips together for a long moment before pulling back. It was short and simple and filled with nervous energy but Max still couldn’t stop the stupid grin that spread across her features; she had kissed her best friend and it had been everything that 12 year old Max dreamt of when she would crush on her over pancakes in the mornings of their sleepovers.

She watched as Chloe’s eyes opened to reveal the same childish wonderment and a goofy smile of her own grew on her face. They laughed at each other in disbelief and Max bought a hand up to swipe a stray strand of blue hair from her face, leaving her hand on her cheek when she had done so. The laughs dwindled into tiny chuckles of amazement as they stared at each other.

Max sighed happily before trying to move back a little, worrying that she was too in Chloe’s space but a firm hand on her back that she didn’t even know was there stopped her from moving. She looked back to Chloe with the intention of asking if she minded being so close but Chloe’s lips crashing onto hers prevented any words from coming out.

Before she could even think to stop it, Max let out a squeak of surprise at the feeling of Chloe’s lips moving against hers. The shock of Chloe kissing her soon subsided as the warmth that it spread through her veins made her involuntarily smile as she started to kiss back. She panicked internally for a moment, worrying that she would be a shit kisser seeing as this was technically her first proper one but Chloe’s hand pulling her closer and the content sigh that came from her at Max’s reciprocation washed those fears away as quickly as they came. 

She cringed at her clumsy movements but the careful and gentle action of Chloe’s lips against hers soon ironed them out and they moved together in a dance so natural it was like it had been choreographed for just them. The happy sigh that escaped Max was involuntary but she felt the smile on Chloe’s lips that it elicited. The feeling of Chloe kissing her created fireworks in her chest, the sparks of them coming out in electric shocks underneath Chloe’s fingers that lay gently on her waist. It could’ve been a few seconds, minutes, hours or anything beyond that that they kissed but Max knew that she’d live in this moment forever if given the choice. 

With a final press of her lips, Chloe withdrew, leaving Max to take in a desperate breath of air where she had forgone oxygen to kiss the blue haired girl. Chloe chuckled at her where she gasped and if Max wasn’t so foggy in the head from the memory of Chloe kissing her, she’d have whacked her and told her to shut up. All she could manage, instead, was an embarrassed smile as Chloe’s hand circled non-sensical patterns on her hip. 

“I promised myself I’d do that when I saw you again,” Chloe said, staring at Max with such intense adoration that her words only just registered in Max’s head. She smiled confusedly. 

“What?” She asked, readjusting herself to lie next to Chloe and lay her hand gently on Chloe’s collarbone, the smooth slope of it fitting against Max’s palm like it was designed to do so. Chloe pulled her closer and kissed her cheek, Max instantly blushing at the contact.

“When you left for Seattle, I promised myself that when I saw you next, I’d tell you…” Chloe faltered. “Well, I’d tell you… You know…” She juddered, uncharacteristically nervous as she spoke. Max tilted her head in confusion, not really knowing what Chloe was trying to get out. She watched Chloe roll her eyes with a grin.

“You’re really gonna make me say it, aren’t you?” She smirked, the hand on Max’s hip coming up to tuck a wayward strand of brown hair behind her hair, leaving the hand resting there and spreading a warmth across Max’s face to join the blush on her cheeks. 

“Fine,” Chloe said, her smirk softening to a smile. “I’m in love with you… Or whatever.” 

Max couldn’t help the soft snort of laughter that escaped her at Chloe’s admission; only Chloe Price could act like she was too cool for a declaration of love. It still made Max’s heart thrum under her rib cage though, as it was a declaration she never thought she’d get to hear.

“Hey!” Chloe started laughing too, as Max‘s giggles continued and she couldn’t help but hide her face in the crook of Chloe’s neck. “I’m trying to be romantic and shit and you are totally ruining the ambience.” She chuckled, poking at Max’s sides where she knew she was most ticklish. Max muffled her shriek of laughter in the fabric of Chloe’s t-shirt and as she felt Chloe’s arms wrap around her in a tight squeeze, she knew this was one of the happiest moments of her life. And after a week of absolute lows, she really needed this. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Max got out after her laughter had subsided. She settled completely in Chloe’s arms, head still tucked in the crook of her best friend’s neck and feeling the steady pulse there that reminded Max that Chloe was alive and with her because of her. “If it helps, I’m in love with you too… Or whatever.” She smiled, moving back to look at Chloe. There were still the damp tear tracks down her cheeks and Max couldn’t help but close the gap and kiss them away. As she made to move back, Chloe’s hand settled in her hair and Max found her lips pressed against Chloe’s once more.

Well, Max thought, if I’ve got all the time in the world now, what better way to spend it? And as Chloe pushed her gently to settle amongst the pillows before chasing her lips, Max decided she might just stay there forever.

**Author's Note:**

> So there's that! 
> 
> Here is the letter that I used for inspiration if anyone wanted to have a read - it's fucking cute,
> 
> https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/life-is-strange/images/2/2e/BtS_Chloe%27s_Letters_Page_1_HOPEFUL.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/400?cb=20170917102444


End file.
